POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said Thursday that county economic development efforts need to be streamlined and better coordinated.

In a speech delivered Thursday at the annual meeting of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corp, Molinaro said "we have a great number of resources that need to be better integrated." He said there are 14 separate entities involved in the county's economic development.

Molinaro said his plan is to reassemble and restructure operations by applying a streamlining model he used during his first year as county executive.

"What we want, though, is an aggressive, comprehensive economic development strategy and that strategy be developed county-wide and that would enable us over the course of the next five, 10, 15, 20 years, to have both a structure and a strategy that evolves with the changing conditions and provides us the flexibility and the agility necessary to respond to just about any economic consideration or concern," the county executive said.

Advertisement

Five primary stakeholders, Molinaro said, will form a "Dutchess Alliance" - Dutchess County, the Economic Development Corp., the Dutchess Regional Chamber of Commerce, Workforce Investment Board, and New York Small Business development Center.

About a dozen secondary stakeholders include large businesses like Central Hudson. Tertiary level stakeholders are suggested as well.

The goal is to reorganize and improve efficiency, Molinaro noted, and create something more flexible and agile, to better serve the taxpayers.

"With redundancy comes waste; this isn't a criticism, it's just reality," Molinaro said. "If time equals money, when it comes to job creation and business growth, we can't afford to waste a second. We need to make the process easier."

The new umbrella group will maintain a strong and vibrant brand identity for Dutchess County, he said, helping local businesses compete, while simultaneously working within the Mid-Hudson Economic Development Corporation region for statewide funding, established by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year.

"We want a structure and a strategy which evolves with the changing conditions, and provides us the flexibility necessary to respond to just about any economic consideration or concern," Molinaro said.

According to the timeline, the Dutchess Alliance board will be established by February and a comprehensive economic development strategy finalized by October, with a shared services agreement following in November. Molinaro said by this time next year, the whole Alliance should be running under one roof.